Hi,
What is the best practice with inserting BIAB track wav's into a DAW
Normalize to 100% which leaves very little headroom, or as they are rendered which brings them in at about -5db.

Thanks
Brian

Hi Brian,

My suggestion is prior to rendering make sure the "flat (EQ), dry (no reverb) and centered (no panning) option is selected and then insert the files into your DAW without using the normalize function. I try not to treat Band-in-a-Box rendered audio files any differently than I would treat any audio file I recorded or obtained elsewhere.

I don't normalize individual performance audio files but have normalized completed mixes.

Jim, would you also recommend mono for rendering tracks out of BIAB?

I wouldn't. Many of the RealTracks are recorded in stereo and I think, even with panning in the center, the stereo tracks have more 'depth' to the sound.

John John John, I render individual tracks as mono or stereo based on the instrument and how it was likely recorded. Instrument sources like vocal, saxophone and acoustic bass typically are recorded mono while, for example, keyboards and guitar with effects are recorded stereo.

Don’t normalize biab audio track’s going to DAW.
Flat
Dry
Center

Mono or stereo as mentioned.

I've always thought stereo tracks are problematic when trying to pan them in the mix in the DAW.

Are the problematic stereo tracks Band-in-a-Box renders, obtained elsewhere or both? I won't pretend to have an answer for stereo tracks obtained elsewhere but I've not experienced an issue with Band-in-a-Box stereo renders when the "flat, dry and center" setting is enabled.

If you are not familiar with that setting, one way to enable it is to right click on the Master button located at the top, left of the normal (classic) screen.

All of the suggestions above are on the money.
I don't use the plug in to move files into Reaper. Too many glitches in the past. Musocity had a terrific tweak to achieve that. I use the export audio function from the audio menu and then import the files one at a time. I'm probably overly cautious.
Stereo - as mentioned above.
When mixing a piano/organ etc that has a pronounced bass side, (piano, organ etc), I use a mono plugin/VST or render the file to mono in the DAW...that leaves me options for stereo in some places if I want it.
Normalizing is really a shortcut that could get you lost...noise floor, artefacts etc. may come with it but most DAWs manage gain staging really well. Yes, some files come out of BIAB a bit quiet or a bit loud but they aren't clipped so there's no reall problem.
Enjoy.

If you want (need) to go back to BIAB and export individual RT from specific track, instead of all, you can:
Right click on the track header>Track Actions>Export Track as Wav file.

Probably not the "best" practice, but saves time when you need to audition things fast, when you already got project going in DAW.

You can also take the track and drag it to the wav icon in the DAW mode window, go to the DAW mode, and drag the track to your open DAW.

This will give the direct source files with no FX added.

Zoom++

If you want to normalize a quiet track prior to exporting, use the Audio Editor. Click the Edit Button, choose Normalize and you have the option to set the -db Normalize setting to what you want.

Stereo tracks are already panned. If you look at some of the stereo instruments.... the B3 organ for example. If you start panning it right or left you are going to start losing a significant portion of it's sound. If you want to pan it without losing much... simply convert it to mono and pan it as hard as you want. I'd say do the same for anything else that is stereo and you want it panned.

With stereo tracks about all I do is set the volume level and let it roll in stereo.

As has been mentioned, stereo gives your mix a width that's hard to replicate with mono. If the width doesn't matter, convert it to mono and put it where you want.

So, let's say I create a song in BIAB with two guitars, bass and drums and I want one guitar panned hard left with the other panned hard right and bass and drums in the center. Would you export the guitars as mono and the bass and drums as stereo? I have been exporting everything as mono and placing them where I want them in the DAW.

The options in the + DROP or Audio > Export... for flat, dry, center should render without the Mixer settings (volume, reverb, pan, fx) to give the exact same levels the source files are whether mono or stereo source, so whatever raw audio file is loaded into RAM from the decompressed wma.

<< So, let's say I create a song in BIAB with two guitars, bass and drums and I want one guitar panned hard left with the other panned hard right and bass and drums in the center. Would you export the guitars as mono and the bass and drums as stereo? I have been exporting everything as mono and placing them where I want them in the DAW. >>

Try this demonstration. Create a song in BIAB using Style; M_cpopsl.sty that has one guitar, RT378. I've posted a sample screenshot.

Select the guitar track and open the RealTrack Picker.
Fill in the Medley Maker as shown in the attached screenshot.
OK out of this window.

In the BIAB Mixer, center the guitar track pan slider. and brighten the tone level at 2

Solo the guitar track and generate and the song. This will play a second guitar, RT362 hard panned opposite of the original RT378 simultaneously. One panned hard left, the other hard right.

The PG DX Plug-ins can be applied to both guitars. Other VST's can be used, and in the Medley Maker, the volume can be balanced; other RealTrack instruments can be added and played simultaneously or alternately.

Note that if you play a second instance of the RT378, the track is thickened and not panned. Therefore, the stereo effect is achieved by using a different RealTrack instrument.

I do this a lot. Often I will regen the performance to get a slightly different take on the instrument.
I do not use the Plugin for this either.

I have 2 monitors on my desktop, one with biab and the other with my daw(Logic Pro X).

I often use the little File export icon (Below "Master"- top left of biab window) and drag tracks ad hoc to there.
Once the Green means go light turns on I drag them to my DAW and a new audio track is created.

For me its a great way to create and audition various additional instrumental voices for a project.

Thanks Charlie! That is a pretty cool trick. I find it a bit confusing because a month from now I won't remember I did this and it does not appear to be reflected in the mixer or anywhere that I have done this. My preferred workflow in your example would be to put RT 378 on one track and RT362 on another one and then export them both as mono, flat, dry, centered for mixing in my DAW.

That's correct. I agree it would be as easy to put them on separate tracks and that would give you more control of each instrument. Also, in the past, I've explained this process to users rather write them out and each have forgotten how to get back to do it again. It is tucked away I'd say.

That said, for users that don't export to a DAW or have older versions of BIAB before Utility Tracks, this is a very good method to have additional instruments in their song project. Each of the original seven Legacy Tracks in the BIAB Mixer have this feature of a 10 track sub-mixer. There's nearly an unlimited way to configure these hidden sub-mixers for each track. The process is similar to old school analog punch-in or overdubs and there's no audio degradation as there was with tape recording.

It's also good for getting a quick rough mix when a user is looking to see how various instruments sound together and saves time by avoiding exporting a lot of tracks.

While I was playing around with my SGU, I also added the RT2495 Electric Piano, held chords, with the same settings as above, to the Pedal Steel Guitar Track and created a really cool sounding combo for that chord progression.